Updated September 2026
Fireflies pipes every call into its cloud, with Fred the notetaker bot visible in your meetings. If that is acceptable for your meetings, it is a capable tool. If it is not, the right alternative depends on what bothers you: for confidentiality, pick a tool that processes audio on your own machine; for different features or pricing, the other cloud note takers below are worth a look.
Disclosure: we make Private Notetaker. Facts about every tool below come from each vendor's own published pages, checked 27 October 2026.
| Alternative | Where meetings are processed | Bot in your calls | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Private Notetaker | 100% on your device, works offline | Never | $15/mo or $149 once |
| Otter | Processes and stores your meetings on Otter's servers | Otter Notetaker bot joins by default; the Mac and Windows desktop app records without a bot, and audio still goes to Otter's cloud | $16.99/mo (or $8.33/mo billed annually) |
| Granola | Captures audio on your Mac, processes it with cloud AI | No bot, but your audio still leaves the machine | Free Basic; Business $14/user/mo; Enterprise $35/user/mo (checked 2026-09-16) |
| Fathom | Processes and stores your meetings on Fathom's servers | Fathom bot joins by default; bot-free capture is a Mac-only beta, and calls are still stored on Fathom's servers | Free for individuals, teams from $19/user/mo |
| Talat | Real-time transcription entirely on your Mac | No bot | $9/mo or $189 once |
| MacWhisper | Local Whisper transcription of files and meetings | No bot | Free version; Pro is a one-time purchase (EUR 64) |
Vendor pricing and claims as published 27 October 2026. Free plan with 400 min storage; 3 meetings unless the bot auto-joins.
The full workflow runs locally on your Mac or Windows PC: recording, transcription, and AI notes with decisions and action items. Nothing is uploaded, it works in airplane mode, and no bot ever appears in your meetings. $15/mo or $149 once for a lifetime license, with a 7-day free trial, no card required. If you are leaving Fireflies over confidentiality, this is the architectural fix rather than a different privacy policy.
Otter pioneered AI meeting notes, and everything you say goes through their cloud. If your meetings involve clients, patients, or deals, that is a lot of trust to hand over for a transcript.
Price: $16.99/mo (or $8.33/mo billed annually) · Free tier: Free tier capped at 300 min/mo · Compare with Private Notetaker
Granola got the bot-free part right. But your meeting audio is still processed by cloud AI models, so the privacy story ends at your network cable. We keep the whole pipeline on your device.
Price: Free Basic; Business $14/user/mo; Enterprise $35/user/mo (checked 2026-09-16) · Free tier: Free plan with limited note history · Compare with Private Notetaker
Fathom's free plan is genuinely good, and it is free because your meetings live on their infrastructure. For everyday standups that is fine. For confidential conversations, free is the wrong price.
Price: Free for individuals, teams from $19/user/mo · Free tier: Generous free tier for individuals · Compare with Private Notetaker
Ten hours of free recording with no account before you pay, then a subscription or a lifetime licence. Built around live on-device transcription of meetings, dictation, and recordings, with recordings, transcripts and notes kept in a local database. Summaries are written by the app's built-in AI by default.
Platforms: Mac (macOS 15+, Apple Silicon) and Windows 10+ · Price: $9/mo or $189 once · Site: talat.app
A well-established Mac transcription tool. Records Zoom, Teams, Webex and other calls in the background without a bot, and transcribes locally. AI summaries are optional and need setting up: either a local model through Ollama or LM Studio, or a cloud provider (OpenAI, Anthropic, Google and others) with your own API key. Pick the local route if privacy is the point.
Platforms: Mac · Price: Free version; Pro is a one-time purchase (EUR 64) · Site: macwhisper.com · Compare with Private Notetaker
Private Notetaker. It runs the entire pipeline on your own computer: recording, transcription, and the AI that writes notes and action items. Fireflies processes and stores your meetings on Fireflies' servers, while Private Notetaker sends nothing anywhere, works offline, and never puts a bot in your calls.
Yes. Private Notetaker offers a $149 lifetime license (pay once, keep it forever), and local transcription tools like Talat and MacWhisper are also one-time purchases. Cloud note takers generally charge a monthly subscription.
Yes. Fred the notetaker bot joins Fireflies calls by default and shows up in the participant list. Fireflies' own Chrome extension (Google Meet) and desktop app can record without a bot, and the audio still goes to Fireflies' cloud. Private Notetaker captures audio locally on your Mac or Windows PC, so nothing joins and nothing is uploaded. Granola is also bot-free, and it still sends audio to cloud AI.
Private Notetaker transcribes and summarizes with no internet connection, because the models run on your computer. Fireflies needs its cloud, including the CRM sync it is built around. A local transcript tool such as MacWhisper works offline for transcription on a Mac, not for Fireflies-style team search.
Fireflies stores recordings and transcripts in its cloud. Private Notetaker stores recordings, transcripts, and notes as files on your own disk. Nothing is uploaded to a Private Notetaker server. If you need the recording in a CRM, that is the cloud feature you give up.
No. Private Notetaker does not claim HIPAA certification. Fireflies publishes a HIPAA program and restricts the signed BAA to the Enterprise plan; Free, Pro, and Business are not covered. On-device processing means we never hold the audio, which is an architecture fact, not a compliance badge. Check the requirements for your profession.
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